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Thai Nguyen
Hello everyone, our family consists of 6 people—two adults and four children, including teenagers and smaller kids. We plan to be in Sapa toward the end of August, and on one day, we intend to walk down to Tả Van village. I’d appreciate some input on two main things:
-
Where would be an excellent place to begin the route? I’ve seen mentions that commencing from Cát Cát provides wonderful scenery, especially at the trek’s onset. Is this information correct?
-
Is hiring a guide truly necessary for this route? I’ve researched extensively on Google and through AI tools (which may or may not be reliable—hence this post!), and the hike is estimated to be about 11 km, primarily descending. I’d personally prefer the autonomy of no guide, allowing us to explore at our own pace. At the same time, I am a bit concerned about getting caught in unexpected weather, like a thunderstorm, or if one of the children might need to return early with their mother, where a guide might be helpful. We are already booking a guided excursion for the second day to Tả Phìn via car and motorbike, so we are open to using guides when necessary.
Many thanks for your advice!
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Hello,
There are a number of different trails/routes from Sa Pa town to Ta Van.
You can walk by yourselves from Cat Cat.
If you get “lost” the locals will help you.
Google maps is so-so on some trails. I use a version of Maps.me called Organic Maps and often use it in conjunction with Gmaps in satellite view.
On the other hand, it will be super easy and inexpensive to have one of the locals guide you.
Just start walking, grandma will follow you anyway 🤣🤣🤣
Replying to Michael P
Super helpful, thank you (sorry I thought I replied earlier !) 🙏👍🏻
Replying to holidaymaddd
My pleasure.